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Denmark’s security of electricity supply level remains among the highest in Europe
This is the conclusion of a new report on security of energy supply, produced by the independent public enterprise, Energinet, owned by the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate. Energinet owns, operates and develops the transmission systems for electricity and natural gas in Denmark.
Denmark’s high degree of security of supply is in particular due to the extensive undergrounding of low and medium voltage power lines over the past decade. This has made the Danish distribution grid robust in regards to for example storms.
Furthermore, Denmark is among the countries in Europe with the strongest links to its neighbouring countries and expansion in this area is ongoing. The Danish interconnectors are equally important for the continuing security a reliable electricity supply in Denmark.
Reliable green power – all year around
With so few interruptions, the Danish supply quality is greater than in other European countries. In fact, since 1990 the Danish security of supply has been stable at 99.99 percent, which corresponds to an average consumer being without electricity for around 40 minutes a year. Yet, in practice, many consumers never experience an outage during the course of a year.
-Related news: New Danish energy agreement: 50 percent of Denmark's energy needs to be met by renewable energy in 2030
The large majority of power supply interruptions in Denmark arise in the distribution grid. However, there has never been a power failure due to a shortage of electricity generation capacity in Denmark, nor have Denmark’s green profile and the increasing share of renewable energy affected the level of security of supply.
Below average electricity prices
Compared to the rest of Europe, the cost of electricity in Denmark is below average. In fact, the gradual phase out of the Danish green energy tax (PSO tax) will reduce costs even further to around 5 euro cent per kWh or less in 2021, according to Ørsted Energy. This makes Danish electricity price levels highly competitive.
With the outstanding energy supply at a low price, Denmark represents an attractive destination for energy intensive industries.
Click to download the report on security of energy supply in Denmark.
